


give us life again (with chances taken and hope embraced)

by OsleyaKomWonkru



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Octavia Blake, Developing Relationship, Early Days of the Bunker, F/F, Finding Peace, First Kiss, Nudity, Pre-Episode: s05e02 Red Queen, Sharing a Bed, mentions of Niylah/Clarke, mentions of Octavia/Lincoln and Octavia/Ilian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:42:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22036501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OsleyaKomWonkru/pseuds/OsleyaKomWonkru
Summary: In the early days of the bunker, Niylah is kicked out of the bunkroom by angry Skaikru. Octavia finds her and brings her back to her room.“No friend of mine is going to sleep on the cold floor when I have a room I can share.” Octavia whispered into Niylah’s ear, sending a shiver up her spine.“Is that so?” Niylah murmured.“It is. I can take the couch.”“And pushOsleyaout of her own bed? How dare I do something like that?” Niylah teased.  “It’s your room and your bed. I can take the couch.”“The couch isn’t really all that comfortable.”“But you would give up your bed to me and sleep there yourself?”“I’ve slept worse places.”“So have I.” Niylah raised an eyebrow at Octavia, the challenge back in her court.
Relationships: Octavia Blake/Niylah
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54





	give us life again (with chances taken and hope embraced)

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy some soft and sweet Niytavia before I start posting some much much heavier fic subjects :)
> 
> You may have already seen on Tumblr, but if you haven't, the first episode of my season 7 will start posting on **Tuesday January 7th**! Subscribe to me as a user here so you don't miss the premiere!

Octavia stalked down one bunker hallway after another, making sure everything was in order. They’d only been down there a few days, but already there had been some minor skirmishes and situations to sort out. She’d known it wouldn’t be easy, but she also knew that it would be worth it. They would survive. Together. _Ogeda._

She knew that there were guards doing patrols as well, but some things she wanted to make sure of herself. Indra was concerned about how little she was sleeping, but Octavia took the safety of her people seriously. So she made sure they knew she was there watching out for them. She patrolled, she trained, she needed to be ready for any situation that could crop up.

As she turned the corner into the hallway with the Skaikru bunkrooms, Octavia noticed a person curled up on the floor outside one of the doors, thin blanket wrapped around their shoulders as they tried to sleep on the cold floor.

Then Octavia noticed the dirty blonde hair, the Grounder braids.

It was Niylah.

Octavia bid the guards shadowing her (on Indra’s orders) to wait, and rushed over, kneeling down next to her, shaking her shoulder gently. “Niylah? Niylah, are you okay?”

Niylah’s eyes snapped open. “Hey.” She said, voice heavy with sleep.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Skaikru.”

“What do you mean?”

“Skaikru isn’t happy that I took one of their spots. They threw me out of the room.”

“Where are Miller and Jackson? Surely they’d stand up for you.”

“Disappeared off to medical hours ago. Skaikru waited until they were gone.”

Octavia’s hand flew to her sword as she stood up, ready to charge into the bunkroom, when Niylah stopped her with a soft hand on the wrist.

“Don’t. It’s not worth it. They’ll come around. Just give them some time.”

_“I_ gave you that spot. You didn’t _take_ it from anyone. This is my responsibility to deal with.”

“Always so serious.” Niylah smiled sleepily. “Really. It’s okay.”

“Well, you’re not sleeping out here on this cold floor. Come with me.”

Niylah looked at Octavia questioningly, but took her hand to help her stand when it was offered.

“Come with me.” Octavia said with a hint of a smile.

Niylah trailed along behind Octavia, between her and her guards, as they made their way through the halls, up to the upper level where only the delegates and Octavia herself had their quarters.

Octavia opened a door, nodding a goodnight to her guards, and ushered Niylah inside, closing the door behind them. She flipped on the light switch, illuminating her quarters so they both could see.

“No friend of mine is going to sleep on the cold floor when I have a room I can share.” Octavia whispered into Niylah’s ear, sending a shiver up her spine.

“Is that so?” Niylah murmured.

“It is. I can take the couch.”

“And push _Osleya_ out of her own bed? How dare I do something like that?” Niylah teased. “It’s your room and your bed. I can take the couch.”

“The couch isn’t really all that comfortable.”

“But you would give up your bed to me and sleep there yourself?”

“I’ve slept worse places.”

“So have I.” Niylah raised an eyebrow at Octavia, the challenge back in her court.

Octavia suddenly seemed shy, biting her lip as she averted her eyes for a few seconds, overcome with nervousness when she’d previously been so confident. “You could… share the bed with me. Then no one has to sleep on the couch.”

Niylah smiled softly, reaching for Octavia’s hand, rubbing her thumb over the girl’s knuckles. “Octavia… you should know, the last person I shared a bed with was Clarke.”

“Do you love her?” Octavia asked, looking back now with eyes wide.

“Excuse me?”

“Clarke. Do you love her? Are you… are you waiting for her and you think sharing a bed with me might change things?”

“No. She’s just a friend. We’ve shared a bed and ourselves with one another a few times. That’s all. I wasn’t looking for anything serious with her. I just know she’s your friend, so I wanted to be honest.”

“Is that your polite way of turning me down?”

“No, not at all. I would be honoured to share _Osleya’s_ bed.”

Octavia blushed. “Can you… I mean, I’m not… I’m not _Osleya,_ not with you. I’m only Octavia with you.”

“You’ll never be only Octavia.” Niylah whispered, voice turning husky as she pressed a kiss to the knuckles of Octavia’s hand. “You saved my life.”

“Don’t feel like you need to… to serve me or anything because of that.” Octavia stammered. “If you don’t want something, please, tell me.”

“I will.” Niylah said. “I’m here because I want to be, not because I feel I have to be.”

“So you would still like to…”

“Share your bed? Yes, I would.”

“Okay.” Octavia chanced a smile, and turned to take off her heavy coat, throwing it over the arm of the couch. Niylah dropped hers on top of Octavia’s, also leaving behind the standard issue bunker blanket as they made their way towards the bed. Niylah gave Octavia some space in which to think, going to the opposite side of the bed from her.

“How… how do you usually sleep?” Octavia asked shyly.

“Back before Praimfaya, or here in the bunker?”

“Both? Either?”

“Well, here, I’ve been sleeping in all of my clothes, ever since a shirt went missing on the first night in here. Safest way to keep all of your belongings is keeping them on you.”

Octavia’s gaze turned stormy. “Point me to who is responsible and I’ll deal with them.”

“It’s okay. Really. I didn’t need it. Back to the point at hand…” Niylah unfastened the buttons at the top of her shirt, one at a time, watching as Octavia’s gaze softened and it was clear that she was definitely watching.

Octavia looked up to meet Niylah’s eyes and swallowed hard. _Busted._ Niylah chuckled.

“Anyway… as to how I slept before Praimfaya… free of any restrictive garments.”

“Restrictive… garments…” Octavia asked, her already husky voice dropping another octave.

Niylah pulled her shirt over her head, revealing several thinner shirts underneath. She hadn’t been kidding about wearing all of her clothes.

“Mmmm.” Niylah hummed, unbuttoning her pants and pushing them down her hips, keeping her eyes locked on Octavia’s across the bed. She stepped out of them, and stayed standing there in her underpants and thin shirts, raising her chin with a smirk, clearly issuing a challenge.

Having lost the heavy coat, Octavia looked much smaller and less intimidating the Champion already - dressed in the same clothes she’d acquired from Niylah’s trading post weeks ago.

Octavia unzipped her pants, pulling them down and kicking them away, not dropping Niylah’s stare. She wore the more delicate women’s undergarments that she’d seen other Ark women washing in the washing stations in Arkadia, different from the undergarments worn by her own people.

Reaching for the bottom of her shirt, Octavia pulled it off over her head in one fluid motion, barely breaking their eye contact, and dropped it behind her. All she had left was a soft black bra, which she unclasped, holding Niylah’s eyes on hers until she shed it as well, and climbed onto the bed in just her underwear.

“Coming?”

Niylah nodded wordlessly, shedding the last of her shirts and joining Octavia on the bed, not having a bra to take off, eyes still locked together, as if challenging each other to be the first to break eye contact.

Octavia faltered first, her gaze dropping to Niylah’s chest, just inches separating them.

“Something wrong?” Niylah asked.

“No.” Octavia whispered, cheeks flushing. “Just - this is all new for me.”

Niylah frowned briefly, confused, knowing that the reason Octavia had spent the past weeks as a swirling hurricane of emotions was because of the death of her lover at Arkadia’s hands, she knew Octavia couldn’t be entirely new to - oh. Maybe that.

“You mean you’ve never shared yourself with a woman before?” Niylah asked gently.

Octavia nodded. “Just Lincoln and Ilian.”

“Ilian?” Niylah raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a relationship I saw coming.”

“He - I - I just needed to feel something. He was there. He helped me. And then he died. In the Conclave.” Octavia buried her face in her hands, tears beginning to flow.

“Hey.” Niylah murmured, moving closer to give Octavia a hug. “I’m sorry.”

“Everyone who gets close to me dies.” Octavia looked up at Niylah with a panic, pushing her away and jumping off the bed. “It’s not safe for you here. I can’t risk losing you.”

_“Okteivia,_ we are safe here.” Niylah said, moving towards Octavia slowly, gently. “You’re safe here. I’m safe here. Nothing is going to happen.”

“What if Skaikru doesn’t just throw you out next time?” Octavia whispered. “What if - what if they attack you like they did that day? What if I’m not there to stop them? It would all be my fault.”

_“Okteivia,_ if you didn’t give me that spot, then I would be dead.” Niylah said. “It is that simple. I would be dead right now if you hadn’t chosen me. Every day I wake is a gift because of that. I am very thankful for that gift, but you cannot hold yourself responsible for making sure I stay that way. Or any of us.”

“You’re wrong. You’re all my responsibility.”

“Our survival is not your burden to bear. We all play a part in our survival here. It is not only up to you. You cannot carry the weight for all of us.”

“I have to.”

“No. You don’t.” Niylah slid off the bed and stepped into Octavia’s personal space, running her hands over her shoulders with a light touch. Octavia let her. “You are just one girl. Our champion, our saviour, that’s true - but you did your part. Now it is up to all of us to work together for our continued survival. We’re all in this together, and you are as deserving of peace and rest and love as any of us.” Niylah pressed a soft kiss to Octavia’s temple. “When was the last time you slept, _strikon?”_

“For more than an hour? I don’t know. I’ve just been so worried. Terrified that something bad is going to happen.”

“I know you don’t have much experience with peace. I know you’ve had to fight every day of your life to be recognized as a person. But this is as close to peace as you’re like to find it. Embrace it.”

Octavia looked unsure, but she was beginning to crack, beginning to listen to what Niylah was telling her. It wouldn’t take much more to get her to agree to rest and take care of herself.

“Come on.” Niylah said. “Let’s get some sleep, okay? Turn that brain of yours off for one night and get some rest.”

Octavia nodded wordlessly, looking up at Niylah, chewing on her bottom lip. Niylah tsked, rubbing her thumb along Octavia’s bottom lip, getting her to release the hold she had with her teeth.

“Promise me you’ll take care of yourself. Promise me you’ll learn to let go and just be.” Niylah whispered, her fingers tilting Octavia’s chin up gently, their mouths mere inches apart.

Niylah waited for Octavia to take the initiative, to take that first kiss, and soon enough she did. Octavia’s lips were soft against Niylah’s, gentle and questioning, new to this experience but seeking more and more as the seconds ticked on.

Just as suddenly, Octavia broke the kiss, resting her forehead against Niylah’s cheek, bringing her arms around her, and Niylah reciprocated, holding Octavia close.

“I’m so tired, _Naila.”_ Octavia murmured. “So tired.”

“Then let’s sleep.” Niylah whispered into Octavia’s hair. “You can sleep. You’re safe with me.”

Niylah guided them back to the bed, pulling back the covers and helping Octavia into the bed and up onto the pillows. Octavia lay down on her side and Niylah settled in behind her, pressing soft kisses along her shoulder, stroking her hand through Octavia’s hair.

“Rest, _strikon._ I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from “We are Broken” and “Miracle” by Paramore.


End file.
